Main menu

Strike Suit Infinity review

Joysticks and gamepads at the ready, arcade space shooter incoming

Strike Suit Zero, from Born Ready Games, was a fair-sized hit early in the year. With decent graphics, frantic trigger happy gameplay and the fact that you’re always out-numbered, it went down particularly well with space shooter fanatics.
Now Strike Suit Infinity has launched from the flight deck of the command vessel but, unlike the story behind 'Zero', you are instead placed in a combat simulator and faced with oncoming waves of enemy fighters.

Much like the training missions from LucasArts Xwing and Tie-Fighter games of old (the key bindings are pretty much identical as well), you are pitted against wave after wave of increasingly hard enemies through a number of punishing rounds. The controls are the same as Zero, so if you’re already familiar then strapping yourself into the cockpit will be just like riding a bike, albeit a transforming bike that's also a weapon of mass destruction. If you’re new to the Strike Suit games, then you’re in for a bit of treat.

As with the old-school arcade hit Afterburner, Strike Suit Infinity places you behind your space ship in a massive simulated space arena. With each round comes a selection of enemies, from fighter craft to missile infiltrators, corvettes to frigates and finally very heavily armed capital ships. The objective is simple enough, though: destroy them all, and try to survive.

Although you are massively outnumbered, you do get help in the form of your wingmen. These can be fighters, missile boats, frigates and bigger ships and are fairly autonomous unless directed otherwise. They’re also pretty good, and not the usual cannon fodder for the enemy, and they generally don’t sit around looking at the scenery while you try and take on a wave of interceptors.

At the end of each round your total is totted up, earning you valuable credits. These, in turn can be spent on upgrades for you and the wingmen.

Within each round there are a few sub-missions, such as destroying a transport before it warps out of a battle area. Completing these will up your final score, as will certain kill combos. Obviously, the more points you finish the round with, the more you can spend on upgrades. It's simple stuff.

You're are by no means out-gunned, here. Your ship comes with a dual fire laser, lockable missiles, an EMP burst to ward off enemy missiles and the ability to transform from a fighter craft into a robot that’s more manoeuvrable and powerful than your ship. Doing so drains Flux, however, which can be replenished when you wipe out an enemy, or kept high with multiple combo kills.

Strike Suit Infinity is a graphically splendid game to look at. Great visuals are the order of the day, with epic space battles fought against the backdrop of rolling galaxies and impressive looking nebulae. As the battle heats up, so does the musical score, with a cool dance-mix held back for the final wave.

It’s pure arcade action all the way, with easy to remember controls that you’ll soon swap out for a gamepad after a few plays. The only real down side is the sudden difficulty, where you’ll be lucky to survive more than a few rounds, and the fact that when a capital ship explodes you can’t see a thing for several seconds.

Other than those very minor complaints, Strike Suit Infinity is a great way to let off some steam. An arcade feel, blast from the past, with modern, excellent looking graphics. If you fancy a spot of space-dogfighting, then head on over to the Strike Suit Infinity simulator; you won't regret it.